Blogs

The question is going to come up every week, and coach Ken Whisenhunt knows it. The message, though, isn’t going to change.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” Whisenhunt said, “but until John (Skelton) is ready to play again, there’s nothing really new there, nothing to talk about.”

Whisenhunt is playing the quarterback situation this year the same as he did last season. He sees no reason to tip his hand, or create a firestorm, if he can help it. Clearly he feels this is the best course of action. And it doesn’t hurt that Skelton is not 100 percent right now. Skelton did practice with the team later last week but on a limited basis.

“But I have to see him step and drive, do it in practice with guys around him,” Whisenhunt said.

At this point, you’d think there’s no way Kevin Kolb would come out of the lineup. His passer rating is over 100. The Cards are 3-0. I wouldn’t think — and this is my opinion — the Cardinals or Whisenhunt would want to tinker with that right now. Whisenhunt certainly isn’t tipping his hand. Asked about his thought process when Skelton does get healthy, Whiz wasn’t biting. “I guess when he gets to that point we’ll see.”

— No new injury updates on RB Beanie Wells (toe) or DT Darnell Dockett (hamstring). Whiz did say he thought TE Todd Heap (knee) and S Adrian Wilson (groin) were close to playing Sunday. The hope is that both can be back against the Dolphins.

Whatever one thinks about Kolb vs. Skelton, at least with Kolb and the team playing well, all the fans calling for Lindley based on preseason and their “What have we got to lose” mentality have left the building. What have we got to lose? How about first place in the NFC West?

No disrespect to Skelton but there is no way Whisenhunt sits Kolb at this point. As I’ve stated before the NFL is a results driven league and right now the team is getting results with Kevin Kolb. When Skelton is ready to play hand him a clipboard and hope he is prepared when and if called upon…right now he is the backup because Kolb is playing very well. As long as Skelton prepares himself each week he very well still may be a big factor in the team’s success.

Our defense scored 6 points (point after was special teams). Eagles vaunted best offense in the league scored 6 points.

OK, smack talk and statistical observations aside, why was Kevin Kolb booed when taking the field? It seems to me our country has begun to boo success. I’m not saying Kevin is the most succesful QB out there, but he’s someone who is always trying (how many people will get up time after time like Vick and stay in the game? Most of us will step back, regroup and then try again, just like Kevin has.)

We are a nation that was founded on the principle of everyone having a shot at success. Everyone. We’ve become a nation that apologizes and demonizes anyone who attempts the American Dream.

I was stunned to here the “BS” chant that rang so loudly from the Ravens stands last night. I understand the refs are blowing calls, but over the last 35 or so years I’ve been old enough to understand sports, refs have been blowing calls (I’ve blown a few myself, we all have).

The replacements are attempting a job at a higher level than before without peers to help guide them. Ryan had peers (Kolb being one) who are guiding him through a rough fumble. These ref’s have none.

We as a nation (and not just a Cardinal nation) need to start supporting one another the way our team is supporting one another. (Fitz was the first to congratulate Sanders in the endzone, followed by I belive the entire defense.) we should not boo someone who’s still trying and we should only feel pity for one who stops trying.

This is a bigger threat than players and replacement refs, our society appears to want everyone to fail. I want everyone to succeed. Imagine a world where everyone keeps trying for succees even when they lose a game. Keep trying for that success. Where would our team be if they’d stopped trying at 1-6? Certainly not at 3-0 with a real possibility of 9-0.

Let us show the world our support for more than just our victories, but for everyones victories.

I know, this is long, I just hope it wasn’t too long to be read. I couldn’t believe the fans in Baltimore last night. Let us follow Larry Fitzgeral’s lead and always take the high road, he hasn’t booed anyone that I’ve ever known of and he probably could have. Let’s follow his lead. After all, he is one of our Captains.

The kudos should go the offensive line. They performed excellently on an overall basis. Kolb had time to make plays, and lo and behold, all of the “skill position” players made plays. It’s amazing.

Kevin Kolb was as good as Skelton in the preseason. When he was protected, he performed. I’m not saying which one is better. All the quarterbacks had similar results, that is to say they were as good as their protection allowed them to be. I think the Cardinals are blessed to have talented players at QB. I only hope they can keep them in the game!

Conrats to the the cards!!!!!!!!!! IM so proud to be a cardinal fan….you guys kicked rear end and SHOULD BE PROUD OF EACH OTHER.. Great execution…nice to see some offense comin alive….i get annoyed at the lack of respect you get but at the same time….fuel for the fire HECK OF A JOB TEAM…..you make this ct. cardinal fan proud…cant wait to see you guys when you play the jets

Personally I couldn’t care less what the national media is saying about the Cardinals. It doesn’t matter in the least and has no connection with what happens on the field. They can pick the Cardinals to win, pick the Cardinals to lose, whatever…..It has zero impact on what happens on game day. Sorry but I just don’t care. As long as the team is playing well and winning ballgames I am very, very happy.

this is a great start, exactly what we needed. and every week will bring a new challenge. we cannot take any team lightly and i don’t think our guys will, not with the leadership we have. great game by kerry rhodes. i remember when we got him from the jets a lot of people were surprised that he was even available. rex ryan said that rhodes was not as good as he once was. how’s he look to you now, rexie boy? that stop of jackson on the one foot line was huge, maybe even a game changer. glad to see the o-line getting some credit. well deserved. i know williams played well and i have read that he should have turned upfield on the third and one play on which he was stopped. i saw that play differently. i thought he did turn up too soon. i thought the edge was sealed off and he had a lot of room to run had he continued outside. but, what do i know? i feel sorry for wells. it seems like he is rarely healthy. time to see what william powell can do. and like a couple of other posters i would not mind if we gave hightower a good look. hyphen didn’t have a good game and maybe we should shelve the wishbone with patrick for now…unless there is a plan to have him throw it long to fitz. that might work. you heard it here first. only six more days to sunday. let’s get started.

Ya know…seeing as we pretty much lost a Super Bowl a few years ago on a play that SHOULD have been a Cardinals TD but was picked off and went the other way for a 14-point swing….does anyone see the Vick fumble yesterday as poetic justice? I sure did. And I say Amen, brother!

First, I want to sincerely thank the whole Cardinals organization for yesterday. Because it was absolutely perfect. I invited friends over for the game and they’re all Eagles fans ( I live in that area ). And that had the potential to go SERIOUSLY wrong for me if the Eagles came in and won that game. Eagle fans can’t help it – they are arrogant by nature and I would have endured 3 hours of living hell if they outplayed the Cardinals. Instead, I enjoyed three hours of pure bliss as my team just opened a can of MAJOR LEAGUE whup-ass on the Eagles and sent them home black and blue from head to toe. For me, there is NOTHING like beating the Eagles. And to do so with such TOTAL domination AND with Eagle fans present and beaten down just as their team was…well, it just doesn’t get any better.

I am in utter and complete awe of this defense. WOW!!!! Have NEVER seen a Cardinals defense beat another team down like that from start to finish. Today, I am hearing people refer to the Cardinals as THE best defense in the league right now. Soooooo awesome to hear that.

Larry Fitzgerald is DEFINITELY the biggest Eagle-killer ever. I don’t know what it is about playing the Eagles that brings out the beast in Fitz, but…it sure seems like something about going against them charges him up. I LOVE IT!!! And anyone notice how devastated he was on the sidelines after he was called for holding on the big catch and run by Roberts? You just see how bad he wanted this game and how much it killed him that he had just hurt his team. His intensity is absolutely un-paralled by any other player in this league.

Finally, I can only feel totally happy for Kevin Kolb today. Yes, I have been a Skelton supporter as of late. OK. But I was one of the biggest advocates of bringing Kolb here when he was available because of the QB I believed he COULD be. I’m not saying I told ya so or anything like that. I had plenty of doubts about him going into this season. But yesterday, I saw the QB I believed he could be and that QB was pretty damn good. And if THAT QB has finally arrived…then he just might have been worth the wait.

Finally, i cannot imagine how much pain Michael Vick must be in thie morning. My gosh, the beating that man took yesterday was un-like anything I have ever seen before on a football field. I’ve never been a big fan, but I have to say I respected how tough he was, hanging in there like he did. If he sees the film today, he might consider pressing charges against the Cardinals for assault!

Great, great win. The schedule over the next 5 weeks looks fantastic for this team, with the way they are playing. But….one at a time. It was a great day to wake up a Cardinals fan!!!

For me, the best thing about Kolb is that he is avoiding turnovers and ego-driven mistakes. The offensive line is really performing. But, this is a defensive team that can win half the games regardless of who is playing offense for the Cards. The Eagles need to sell Vick’s game jersey to Tide for a laundry commercial. And the the defense will only improve as long as they stay healthy. Kudos to Kolb for his decision-making. He has earned the right to keep playing. Skelton will get another shot–he just needs to stay focused and motivated.

I think Skelton would probably have had the same results as Kolb given Seattle first half, it is the OL that is doing it’s job with a concrete and absolute killer D . I say let’s keep playing Kolb and see how far it goes, he got lucky with first TD as it should have been intercepted twice. Nice pass to Fitz though. I still say Skelton is better long term and should be the franchise QB.

Skelton would be ready to step in for a game tempo change like Kolb did. I remember Max Hall being a miracle worker for a game last year so let’s see. That ankle injury cost Skelton a ton as he probably would have continued the drive vs Seattle. The Cardinals have had two HUGE breaks, one a missed Pats field goal at the end and a missed Seattle opportunity in the end zone with 10 seconds to end it, otherwise we would be 1 and 3 ! It went the other way at the start of the season last year.

cardinals have built a bad wrap for many years, it’ll take more then 3 wins to polish what is so tarnish, luckily this group is the pure definition of TEAM, teams win championships. DEFENSE wins championships. No hope or unsettling nerves here, i know determination when i see it and the Cardinals have it BIG time, they move faster, hit harder, aware quicker, it does not look like the Cardinals of past at all. QB situation? I see no QB situation, we have 2 QBs that can get it done it appears, Kolb plays, dice rolled in our favor, if kolb needs to rest we know Skelton can get it done. Vice versa. Humble Pie rest season for me cause im in uncharted territory as a cards fan. wow!

My take for what it’s worth is that Skelton,for whom I have a lot of respect did not really flat out win the number 1 job through his great play. Even Whiz said he won it through his practice performances. Kolb lost the job because he was frankly very underwhelming. Since getting his opportunity Kolb has played at a level seen only rarely in Philly and never in Arizona. To remove a QB coming off a game with a 127 rating in favour of a player who is still limping and unlikely to be 100% physically is not going to happen. It is Kolb’s job to lose and as Andy M says Skelton should work hard, stay focused and wait for his chance.

Been a Skelton guy since last year, but i see no way that you pull Kolb now. He is playing well and protecting the ball. Gotta play the hot hand. Also thought that except for the “wildcat” which made no sense at that time the play selection was very good. Defense was just plain fun to watch.

I don’t think the shaun king issue is the same. I heard shawn king was partying.
Whiz seems to always be making some type of judgement error.and I’m starting to think if skelton wasn’t hurt wed be 0-3. Remember how we lost all those games because he didn’t play edge and used hightower out of spite we go from 7-3 to 8-6.
Skelton best games are 44 throws to barely hit 300 he’s a 65 career rated passer and kolb is 77. Kolb was hurt not reading any play books with a concussion,so if skelton can do audibles better who cares?he can’t perform.
I don’t think ill watch another skelton snap he has no upside I refuse ill check score on my phone. He’s terrible. If skelton was waived tommorow NOBODY will claim him

Ah yes Sarah, I was at the game you refer to as the Max Hall “miracle worker” game. Except that he wasn’t much of a miracle worker. Instead he passed for 168 yards, got intercepted once, and fumbled twice, including on a critical 3rd down play on the Saints’ one yard line (this was after a Paris Lenon INT that put us 1st and goal at the 2). Luckily Levi picked that one up and scored. And Kerry Rhodes returned a fumble 27 yards for a TD while DRC intercepted a Brees pass for a pick 6. Between those three plays the defense basically accounted for 21 of our 30 points (even though Lenon didn’t score, putting us on the 2, I give the D credit for that TD as well). But we won the game, so Max got to stay as the starter, and then turned in two of the worst games as an NFL QB you’ll ever see — going 4-16 for 36 yards with a lost fumble and INT vs. SEA, and 8-16 for 71 yards with 2 INT’s vs. Tampa before Derek Anderson (!) came in and rallied us to nearly win before throwing his own game-ending INT. That single NO game of Hall’s in 2010 was a microcosm of what happened on a larger scale last year with Skelton, where the team reeled off wins in spite of mediocre QB play in several of his starts. (Admittedly, Skelton did play well in a couple wins.) Hall deserved almost no credit for that NO win, but because we happened to win, he got two more starts to the detriment of the team.

Hoping that the team continues to play well and Kolb plays reasonably error free to get this Whole QB nonsense behind us. I have believed from Day one and still do that Kolb is the only true NFL quality starter on this team right now. And I am convinced that his performance would continue to improve if he does not think there is a hook waiting for him at his first misstep. Long term I do not think it is healthy to have both Kolb and Skelton on this team…
I think the solution will be to see if we can get anything for Skelton in the off season through trade, try to pick up an old man back up willing to be in that role, and develop our current No 3 into the No 2..

You know I agree with you Eric H about playing Kolb over Skelton, but I’m fine with keeping Skelton around as a backup. After this year he’ll have been with the team 3 years. If Kolb continues to do well and clearly takes over the #1 role, I have no problem with Skelton being around to step in in case of injury, etc. That’s a good role for him. What are we going to get for him? I can’t think of an NFL team that would bring him in with the intention of making him the starter right now, so do we think other teams are waiting to grab him away from us… to be their backup QB?